📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zefir v Shokolade (Marshmallow in Chocolate)
- 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the “Poisk” seed company’s “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) line. The name playfully translates to “Marshmallow in Chocolate”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Usually reaches around 6 feet (1.9 m) in open ground. It sets fruit consistently without dropping blossoms. Growers recommend pruning it to 2 or 3 main stems.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small-to-medium round tomatoes weighing 4-5.3 oz (120-150 g). The exterior is a beautiful reddish-brown/chocolate color with dark green striping. The interior flesh is juicy with a distinct greenish tint. Warning: Prone to cracking if heavy rains hit while they are ripening.
- 👅 Flavor: Early fruits have a standard, slightly sweet tomato flavor, but as the season progresses, they develop an intense, pure sweetness with zero acidity.
Seeds are from Poisk, from their “Vkusnoteka” series. Info from the packet: “A mid-season variety for hoop houses. The plant is tall, requires pruning and staking. The fruit is round, weighing 4-5.3 oz (120-150 g). The color is red-brown with dark green stripes. The flesh is juicy, has a greenish tint, and excellent flavor. For fresh eating.”
Mine is growing outdoors in the open ground. As of July 7th, 2016, the bush is 6.2 feet (1.9 m) tall. Sets trusses very well without skipping any blossoms, I’m pruning it to 2 stems. It actually turned out to be an early variety for me, the first tomatoes ripened on July 2nd. Unfortunately, a rainstorm rolled through right as they were ripening, and the ripening fruits cracked. The color of the ripe tomatoes perfectly matches the description on the packet.
I liked the taste, a classic tomato flavor with a hint of sweetness. But there isn’t any overwhelming sweetness yet. Maybe the later-ripening ones will have it. The tomato is juicy, not a lot of seeds. Overall, the variety makes a great impression, definitely going on the grow list for next year.
The tomatoes on this variety are continuing to ripen. The flavor profile has definitely shifted towards being much sweeter. Now they just taste like pure, sweet tomatoes. 👍
Lilya, your Marshmallow is a real stunner 👍. I can confirm it’s a heavy yielder, and if it’s tasty on top of that, it’s a double win. Here is how mine looks so far.
I’ve got this little tomato growing too. Still green, but it has set a ton of fruit.
Awesome tomato, absolutely zero acidity, and it was one of the very first to ripen for me.
Quote from Lyolikovna: Awesome tomato, absolutely zero acidity, and it was one of the very first to ripen…
Yours are huge! Mine are tiny, but there are a lot of them 😄 And almost all of my bushes are turning just plain red. Very few actually turned out dark/black.
Quote from vad: Yours are huge! Mine are tiny, but there are a lot of them 😄
These are from the second truss, they grew larger. The ones on the very first truss were almost twice as small 😄
Quote from vad: …and almost all of my bushes are turning just plain red. Very few actually turned out dark/black.
That’s weird, this variety is growing almost in full shade for me, it barely gets any direct sun. But the fruits are definitely dark-colored, they take on that color the second they start to ripen.
Quote from LiliyaYa: That’s weird, this variety is growing almost in full shade for me, it barely gets any direct sun. But the fruits are definitely dark-colored…
They might have packed the wrong seeds in my packet. Although the fruit shape and truss formation are identical. I was supposed to have 10 bushes of this. But only 2 or 3 bushes actually grew dark tomatoes in this style. The rest are all just red.
